Co-Occurrence of Substance Use Behaviors in Youth (NCJ 219239) November 2008

Fact Sheet

McCurley, C., and Snyder, H.N.

Examines the prevalence and overlap of substance-related behaviors among youth, making comparisons based on age group, gender, and race/ethnicity. Findings reported in this Bulletin are drawn from the first two stages of the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which gathered self-reports from a nationally representative sample of youth ages 12–17 in 1997 and 1998. The data are derived from questions survey participants answered regarding their alcohol and drug use during the previous 30 days, including the frequency of their consumption, the types of drugs used, and whether they had sold drugs. The central finding was that, given one substance-related behavior, other substance-related behaviors became much more likely.